Apple has announced it will release an update for specific iPhones today — and announcing this in advance is pretty much unprecedented.

According to Wired, Apple will release an iOS 18 update on Wednesday morning to patch vulnerabilities exploited by the DarkSword hack.

Apple has now made it possible for more iPhones still running iOS 18 to receive security updates that protect against the actively exploited DarkSword exploit kit.

Apple on Wednesday will issue software updates to devices still running iOS 18 to protect them from an exploit called DarkSword, which can silently take over an iPhone if it visits a website infected with the malicious code.

This article, first published on March 24, has been revised to add information on more fixes and updates in the release, and how it affects AirPods Pro Max 2. Apple released the latest iPhone software update,

Typically, after Apple introduces a new major version of its operating system, it stops pushing out the old version to compatible phones. Older phones that are incompatible with the new version continue to get security updates, but newer phones have to jump to the newer operating system to get them.

One of the more meaningful changes in iOS 26.4 is that Stolen Device Protection is now enabled by default, rather than requiring users to opt in. The feature, which adds biometric requirements for sensitive actions when your iPhone is away from familiar locations, is now on by default for everyone.

Apple iOS 26.4 is now live with 10 new features and 8 emojis. Find out about Apple iOS 26.4, what’s new, when it was launched, which iPhones support it, and how the update improves performance.